The Politics Of Federal Prosecution

Author : Christina L. Boyd,Michael J. Nelson,Ian Ostrander,Ethan D. Boldt
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2021-01-01
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780197554692

Get Book

The Politics of Federal Prosecution by Christina L. Boyd,Michael J. Nelson,Ian Ostrander,Ethan D. Boldt Pdf

Federal prosecutors have immense power and discretion to decide when to bring criminal charges, what plea bargains to offer, and how to implement the federal government's legal priorities in their districts. While U.S. Attorneys take pains to emphasize their independence, we know relatively little about the extent to which politics colors federal prosecutorial staffing and decision making. The Politics of Federal Prosecution draws upon a wealth of data from 1990s to the present to examine the interplay of political factors and federal prosecution. First, the authors find that congressional and presidential politics affect who becomes federal prosecutors and how long those individuals serve. Second, the book demonstrates that signals of presidential and congressional preferences, along with local priorities, affect key prosecutorial decisions: whether to bring prosecutions, how to approach plea bargaining negotiations, and when to utilize criminal asset forfeiture to cripple criminal activities. In short, the book demonstrates that politics affects the behavior of U.S. Attorneys at nearly every stage of their service.

Author : Christina L. Boyd,Michael J. Nelson,Ian Ostrander,Ethan D. Boldt
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 253 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2021
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780197554685

Get Book

The Politics of Federal Prosecution by Christina L. Boyd,Michael J. Nelson,Ian Ostrander,Ethan D. Boldt Pdf

"In February 2016, while testifying in a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, a Barack Obama appointee, promised that her department would act with independence in investigating Hillary Clinton's usage of a personal email server during her tenure as Secretary of State. During that hearing, Congressman John Carter (R-TX) asked Lynch: If the FBI makes the case that Hillary Clinton mishandled classified information and put America's security at risk, will you prosecute the case? . . .[P]lease look the American people in the eye and tell us what your position is as you are the chief prosecutor of the United States. In response to this questioning, Lynch asserted that: [The matter] is being handled by . . . independent attorneys in the Department of Justice. They follow the evidence, they look at the law and they'll make a recommendation to me when the time is appropriate. . .This will be conducted as every other case. We will review all the facts and all the evidence and come to an independent conclusion as how to best handle it. And I am also aware of no efforts to undermine our review or investigation into this matter at all (Goldman 2016). Despite strong claims of prosecutorial independence, many Republicans complained that a Department of Justice run by Obama appointees could not impartially pass legal judgment on the Hillary Clintonemails matter. A June 27, 2016 meeting between Lynch and former U.S. President Bill Clinton would not help matters. The two privately talked for approximately 20 minutes on a plane sitting on the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport tarmac in a meeting described as unplanned and "primarily social." Despite the meeting's claimed innocuous content, it "caused a cascading political storm" for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and "provided fodder for Republicans who have accused the Justice Department of bias in its inquiry into Secretary Clinton's use of a private email server at the State Department" (Chozick 2016). Even Democrats expressed concerns about the meeting Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) remarked that "I do think that this meeting sends the wrong signal . . . I think she should have steered clear, even of a brief, casual social meeting with the former president"--

Author : Banks P. Miller,Brett W. Curry
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2018
Category : Public prosecutors
ISBN : 0190928271

Get Book

U.S. Attorneys, Political Control, and Career Ambition by Banks P. Miller,Brett W. Curry Pdf

United States Attorneys (USAs), the chief federal prosecutors in each judicial district, are key in determining how the federal government uses coercive force against its citizens. How much control do national political actors exert over the prosecutorial decisions of USAs? In this text, the authors investigate this question using a unique data set of federal criminal prosecutions between 1986 and 2015 that captures both decisions by USAs to file cases as well as the sentences that result.

Author : Christina L. Boyd,Michael J. Nelson,Ian Ostrander,Ethan D. Boldt
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 253 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2021-01-01
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780197554708

Get Book

The Politics of Federal Prosecution by Christina L. Boyd,Michael J. Nelson,Ian Ostrander,Ethan D. Boldt Pdf

Federal prosecutors have immense power and discretion to decide when to bring criminal charges, what plea bargains to offer, and how to implement the federal government's legal priorities in their districts. While U.S. Attorneys take pains to emphasize their independence, we know relatively little about the extent to which politics colors federal prosecutorial staffing and decision making. The Politics of Federal Prosecution draws upon a wealth of data from 1990s to the present to examine the interplay of political factors and federal prosecution. First, the authors find that congressional and presidential politics affect who becomes federal prosecutors and how long those individuals serve. Second, the book demonstrates that signals of presidential and congressional preferences, along with local priorities, affect key prosecutorial decisions: whether to bring prosecutions, how to approach plea bargaining negotiations, and when to utilize criminal asset forfeiture to cripple criminal activities. In short, the book demonstrates that politics affects the behavior of U.S. Attorneys at nearly every stage of their service.

Author : United States. Department of Justice
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 1988
Category : Justice, Administration of
ISBN : OCLC:19110395

Get Book

United States Attorneys' Manual by United States. Department of Justice Pdf

Author : Wadie E. Said
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 200 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2015-04-08
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780190234164

Get Book

Crimes of Terror by Wadie E. Said Pdf

The U.S. government's power to categorize individuals as terrorist suspects and therefore ineligible for certain long-standing constitutional protections has expanded exponentially since 9/11, all the while remaining resistant to oversight. Crimes of Terror: The Legal and Political Implications of Federal Terrorism Prosecutions provides a comprehensive and uniquely up-to-date dissection of the government's advantages over suspects in criminal prosecutions of terrorism, which are driven by a preventive mindset that purports to stop plots before they can come to fruition. It establishes the background for these controversial policies and practices and then demonstrates how they have impeded the normal goals of criminal prosecution, even in light of a competing military tribunal model. Proceeding in a linear manner from the investigatory stage of a prosecution on through to sentencing, the book documents the emergence of a "terrorist exceptionalism" to normal rules of criminal law and procedure and questions whether the government has overstated the threat posed by the individuals it charges with these crimes. Included is a discussion of the large-scale spying and use of informants rooted in the questionable "radicalization" theory; the material support statute--the government's chief legal tool in bringing criminal prosecutions; the new rules regarding generation of evidence and the broad construction of that evidence as relevant at trial; and a look at the special sentencing and confinement regimes for those convicted of terrorist crimes. In this critical examination of terrorism prosecutions in federal court, Professor Said reveals a phenomenon at odds with basic constitutional protections for criminal defendants.

Author : Peter J. Henning,Lee Radek
Publisher : OUP USA
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2011-08-25
Category : Law
ISBN : 0195378415

Get Book

The Prosecution and Defense of Public Corruption by Peter J. Henning,Lee Radek Pdf

The Prosecution and Defense of Public Corruption: The Law and Legal Strategies is the first comprehensive, practice-oriented treatment of the law of public corruption in the U.S. legal market.

Author : Mona Lynch
Publisher : Russell Sage Foundation
Page : 206 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2016-11-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781610448611

Get Book

Hard Bargains by Mona Lynch Pdf

The convergence of tough-on-crime politics, stiffer sentencing laws, and jurisdictional expansion in the 1970s and 1980s increased the powers of federal prosecutors in unprecedented ways. In Hard Bargains, social psychologist Mona Lynch investigates the increased power of these prosecutors in our age of mass incarceration. Lynch documents how prosecutors use punitive federal drug laws to coerce guilty pleas and obtain long prison sentences for defendants—particularly those who are African American— and exposes deep injustices in the federal courts. As a result of the War on Drugs, the number of drug cases prosecuted each year in federal courts has increased fivefold since 1980. Lynch goes behind the scenes in three federal court districts and finds that federal prosecutors have considerable discretion in adjudicating these cases. Federal drug laws are wielded differently in each district, but with such force to overwhelm defendants’ ability to assert their rights. For drug defendants with prior convictions, the stakes are even higher since prosecutors can file charges that incur lengthy prison sentences—including life in prison without parole. Through extensive field research, Lynch finds that prosecutors frequently use the threat of extremely severe sentences to compel defendants to plead guilty rather than go to trial and risk much harsher punishment. Lynch also shows that the highly discretionary ways in which federal prosecutors work with law enforcement have led to significant racial disparities in federal courts. For instance, most federal charges for crack cocaine offenses are brought against African Americans even though whites are more likely to use crack. In addition, Latinos are increasingly entering the federal system as a result of aggressive immigration crackdowns that also target illicit drugs. Hard Bargains provides an incisive and revealing look at how legal reforms over the last five decades have shifted excessive authority to federal prosecutors, resulting in the erosion of defendants’ rights and extreme sentences for those convicted. Lynch proposes a broad overhaul of the federal criminal justice system to restore the balance of power and retreat from the punitive indulgences of the War on Drugs.

Author : Anna Offit
Publisher : NYU Press
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2022-08-02
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781479808533

Get Book

The Imagined Juror by Anna Offit Pdf

Based on author's thesis (doctoral - Princeton University, 2018) issued under title: Making the case for jurors: an ethnographic study of U.S. prosecutors.

Author : John Fitzgerald Duffy
Publisher : American Bar Association
Page : 340 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Administrative agencies
ISBN : 1590314832

Get Book

A Guide to Judicial and Political Review of Federal Agencies by John Fitzgerald Duffy Pdf

"This book provides a thorough overview of the law of judicial and political control of federal agencies. The primary focus is on the availability and scope of judicial review, but the book also discusses the control exercised by the U.S. president and Congress"--Provided by publisher.

Author : Stephen Rushin
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2017-04-07
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781107105737

Get Book

Federal Intervention in American Police Departments by Stephen Rushin Pdf

This book evaluates how structural reform litigation initiated by federal intervention has transformed police departments and reduced law enforcement misconduct.

Author : National Research Council,Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education,Committee on Law and Justice
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 72 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2001-05-23
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780309170918

Get Book

What's Changing in Prosecution? by National Research Council,Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education,Committee on Law and Justice Pdf

This workshop arose out of the efforts of the Committee on Law and Justice to assist the National Institute of Justice in identifying gaps in the overall research portfolio on crime and justice. It was designed to develop ideas about the kinds of knowledge needed to gain a better understanding of the prosecution function and to discuss the past and future role of social science in advancing our understanding of modern prosecution practice. The Committee on Law and Justice was able to bring together senior scholars who have been working on this subject as well as current or former chief prosecutors, judges, and senior officials from the U.S. Department of Justice to share their perspectives. Workshop participants mapped out basic data needs, discussed the need to know more about recent innovations such as community prosecution, and discussed areas where one would expect to see changes that have not occurred. The resulting report summarizes these discussions and makes useful suggestions for learning more about prosecution.

Author : Angela J. Davis
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2007-04-12
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780199884278

Get Book

Arbitrary Justice by Angela J. Davis Pdf

What happens when public prosecutors, the most powerful officials in the criminal justice system, seek convictions instead of justice? Why are cases involving well-to-do victims often prosecuted more vigorously than those involving poor victims? Why do wealthy defendants frequently enjoy more lenient plea bargains than the disadvantaged? In this eye-opening work, Angela J. Davis shines a much-needed light on the power of American prosecutors, revealing how the day-to-day practice of even the most well-intentioned prosecutors can result in unequal treatment of defendants and victims. Ranging from mandatory minimum sentencing laws that enhance prosecutorial control over the outcome of cases, to the increasing politicization of the office, Davis uses powerful stories of individuals caught in the system to demonstrate how the perfectly legal exercise of prosecutorial discretion can result in gross inequities in criminal justice. For the paperback edition, Davis provides a new Afterword which covers such recent incidents of prosecutorial abuse as the Jena Six case, the Duke lacrosse case, the Department of Justice firings, and more.

Author : Ronald F. Wright,Kay L. Levine,Russell M. Gold
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 696 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2021-04-30
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780190905446

Get Book

The Oxford Handbook of Prosecutors and Prosecution by Ronald F. Wright,Kay L. Levine,Russell M. Gold Pdf

The power of the modern prosecutor arises from several features of the criminal justice landscape: widespread use of law and order political rhetoric and heightened fear of crime among voters; legislatures' embrace of extreme sentencing ranges to respond to such concerns; and the uncertain or limited accountability of prosecutors to the electorate, the bar, or other political and professional constituencies. The convergence of these trends has transformed prosecution into an indispensable field of study. This volume brings together the work of leading international scholars across criminology, sociology, political science, and law - along with contributions from reform-minded practitioners - to examine a variety of issues in prosecutorial behaviour and the institutional structures that frame their behavior. The Handbook connects the dots among existing theoretical and empirical research related to prosecutors. Major sections of the volume cover (1) prosecutor performance during distinct phases of a criminal case, (2) the features of the prosecutor's environment, both inside the office and external to the office, that influence the choices of individual prosecutors and office leaders, and (3) prosecutorial strategies and priorities when dealing with specialized types of crimes, victims, and defendants. Taken together, the chapters in this volume identify the founding texts, discuss leading theoretical and methodological approaches, explain the scope of unresolved issues, and preview where this field is headed. The volume provides a bottom-up view of an important new scholarly field.

Author : United States. Department of Justice
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 68 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 1980
Category : Government attorneys
ISBN : IND:30000068254295

Get Book

Principles of Federal Prosecution by United States. Department of Justice Pdf